The present invention pertains to a mounting system for a desk-top computer; more particularly, the present invention pertains to a system for mounting a desk-top computer in an electrical equipment rack.
In recent years, the explosion in the use of desk-top computers has placed these units in a wide variety of locations to include laboratories and repair shops. In such laboratories and repair shops electrical equipment such as oscilloscopes and power supplies are often mounted in racks. These racks are designed with standard size openings for the insertion of various types of electrical equipment. Desk top computers, however, are not readily inserted into electrical equipment racks because of the way that desk-top computers are packaged and sold by manufacturers.
Typically, the disk drives, circuit boards and power supply within a desk-top computer are enclosed in a factory installed protective cover and have a factory installed face plate or bezel on the front of the desk-top computer which provides a decorative appearance for the user. In the face plate are normally holes or slots for disk drives and one or more openings for lights and switches which respectively control or indicate the operation of the computer.
When it becomes necessary to use a desk-top computer in conjunction with other components typically mounted in electrical equipment racks, users have either placed the entire desk-top computer with its cover and face plate in place in another container and inserted the combination in a rack. Still other users have drilled holes in the top or sides of the factory installed cover and used the cover for the desk-top computer as a mounting bracket. Other users never confront the problem and merely place the desk-top computer on a shelf in the electrical equipment rack.
The three foregoing systems for placing commonly available desk-top computers in electrical equipment racks all have their drawbacks in that they do not provide for easy access to the inner portion of the desk-top computer to either service or upgrade the desk-top computer. Therefore, when it becomes necessary to service the desk-top computer or to add more memory or additional computing ability, it is necessary to disassemble the entire computer or remove the computer with its cover and face plate from the rack before any access can be gained to the interior of the computer. Such actions are difficult and time-consuming.
There is, therefore, a need in the art to provide an easy method and system for mounting a desk-top computer in an electrical equipment rack which provides for easy accessibility to the inside of the computer. Such system should not require any modification to the electrical components or to the component mounting chassis of the desk-top computer.